Touching the Sun - August 17th
Twisted Shorts August Fic-a-Day Challenge - Day 17
Title: Touching the Sun
Author: hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/Smallville
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or Smallville people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Athena’s life comes to a halt in the cold. Someone new comes to Smallville.
Notes: Athena Luthor Part 12 - Links Page
Seasons: S1Ep5 “Cool”
Characters: Athena, Lex, Clark
Word Count: 2655
The temperature dropped that week, so cold that lakes froze over. Sweaters were joined by gloves, scarves, and hats. The flu and cold virus ran rampant. There was no snow yet, but every morning the dew froze to the grass blades.
“I love this,” Athena said, kneeling on the window seat one morning, looking out a large window onto the grounds.
“A frigid gothic castle in winter?” he asked.
“Don’t rain on my parade, Lex.”
“Are you ready?”
“When you are.” She turned to look at him. He was dressed in a pair of black exercise pants and a white tank top. She wore dark blue yoga pants and bra. Neither of them wore shoes.
Lex raised his hands.
Athena mirrored him.
He threw the first punch, she weaved and retaliated with a hit to his stomach. She had pulled it, hoping it would be normal strength.
Lex moved around her, keeping his feet moving.
Athena gently shifted her weight as he moved behind her.
He launched himself at her back, his arms wrapping around her middle.
She slammed her foot on his instep and sent her elbow into his gut.
He made a sound of pain as air left his body.
When his grip loosened, she grabbed his arm and flung him forward to land on his back on the ground.
“Oof,” he said.
Athena crossed her arms, staying out of reach of his limbs. “Is that all you’ve got?”
Lex raised an eyebrow. “Using one of Father’s taunts?”
She mirrored his expression.
Lex pushed to his feet.
They went several rounds. Each time, Athena tried to keep from hitting Lex, and mostly just used his fighting style against him.
Lex pulled out boxing gloves, handing her a pair.
Athena sighed and put them on. She loved her over protective brother, but his need to ‘check’ her fighting skills was driving her nuts. It also was nowhere close to the workout she needed. However, she needed to assuage her guilt about lying to him. Keeping to the truth as much as possible did not negate the fact that she had secrets.
Hoping it would hasten the process, Athena gave a bit more power to her hits. She deflected Lex’s strikes with ease. She went low after his hit glanced off her shoulder. She swept his feet out from under him and pinned him.
“Are we done?” She asked.
Lex nodded. He was sweating and breathing heavily.
Athena had barely even warmed up. She stood, helping Lex up.
“Your training has obviously paid off,” Lex conceded as he stripped his gloves. He looked passed her. “Clark, what brings you here so early?”
“Just came to hang out,” Clark said. “Athena said today she’d be free.”
“Great.” He handed over the gloves. “You let her beat up on you some.”
Athena smirked, raising her gloved hands.
Lex crossed to a small bookcase where bottled waters were kept.
Clark looked uncomfortably between the two of them.
“Go ahead, Clark,” Lex encouraged. “I don’t advocate violence against women, but Athena is well trained and tends to find it insulting if someone won’t fight her because of her sex.”
Clark hesitantly stripped his jacket and pulled on the black boxing gloves.
Athena lowered her gloves and walked all the way up to Clark. She went up on her toes, giving him a quick kiss. The moment her heels were on the floor, she delivered a jab to his stomach.
“Oof,” Clark exhaled as Athena took several steps back.
She was grinning, bouncing back. She knew Clark would hesitate to hit her, since he was strong and indestructible. Her opening strike had been meant to remind him she was stronger than she looked.
He followed her to the center of the room.
The round was very short, Athena took his legs out and pinned him within two minutes. She was beaming and even Clark found it infectious.
They stood again. This time Athena stripped her gloves. She instructed Clark to leave his on. She took several shots at his abdomen.
Clark returned a few hits, barely making contact. She raised an eyebrow, annoyed. She put a bit more effort into her swings and was caught off-guard when Clark finally added some strength to his hit to her shoulder. The force turned her and she landed on the floor.
Lex chuckled. “I’m a bit jealous, Clark, I didn’t manage to knock her down all morning.”
Athena would privately admit that the hit had stung, no more than training when she had been human, but it surprised her. She mentally checked she was not injured.
Clark took a step closer, trying to make sure she was okay.
Athena sent him back with a kick, knocking him down. She jumped on him before he could get up. She dug her fingers into his sides but it did not have the reaction she had hoped for.
“You’re not ticklish,” she told Clark.
He shook his head and pulled off his gloves. “No.”
“That is so unfair.”
Clark grinned at her pout and dug his fingers into her ribs.
Athena twisted, jumping away. But Clark got ahold of her waist, dragging her back to the floor. Pinning her half under him.
She laughed. “Okay, lesson learned.”
He leaned down and kissed her. Her arms went around his neck as she deepened the kiss.
A moment later, they pulled away, chuckling. Clark looked up only to find they were alone, Lex having discretely quit the room.
“My brother is singularly the best or the worst chaperone ever,” Athena said.
Clark’s cheeks flushed. “Maybe.”
She whispered softly. “We’ve got to remember to try sparring out at your farm, see how we actually match up when we’re not being watched.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he told her.
Athena considered him a moment. “The only way to be the best is to train with the best.” She leaned up to whisper in his ear. “And while you may be a bit invincible, I have to rely on what I know and how I handle a situation, which means knowing my full abilities.”
Clark considered, but did not like the idea.
She kissed his cheek. “Get up, you weigh a ton.”
88888888
Athena grinned as she entered Smallville High. “Any luck?” she asked Chloe. They had agreed to try and get along for Clark’s sake.
“Unsurprisingly, Sean did not call.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not like I was waiting by the phone,” Chloe countered.
“I’d try to find something helpful to say,” Athena said as she put in the combination for her locker, “but I literally have no idea what you’re going through.”
“Because a Luthor always gets what she wants?” she said scathingly.
“No,” Athena threw back coolly. “Because I’ve spent my entire life trying to stay out of people’s notice.”
“Except for Clark’s,” Chloe’s bitter reply came. She crossed the hall entering the Torch office.
“Ugh.” Athena gently banged her head against her locker.
“She looked mad,” Pete noted.
“She was.”
“What happened?”
“Apparently Clark noticed me.”
Pete’s frowned. “Is this about Chloe’s crush?”
“Was I just blind to it?”
“She hides it, mostly.” He sighed. “I don’t think she’s mad at you, it’s just easier to be mad at you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Clark is who she’s actually mad at.”
Athena tried to follow his logic. “Clark…”
“Because he was seemingly in love with Lana one day…”
“And then in a relationship with me the next. Without ever considering Chloe.”
Pete pursed his lips. “It’s not your fault, or Clark’s, or even hers…the heart wants what the heart wants.”
“And being a Luthor doesn’t help.”
“Probably not.” He smiled a bit, trying to take the sting out of the comment.
“Excuse me,” an accented voice said. “Could you direct me to the main office?”
“Uh, yeah,” Pete told the man. “I’ll take you there.” He looked at Athena. “Talk to Clark, maybe he can talk to Chloe.”
“Does he even know how she feels?”
Pete shrugged. “This way Mister…”
“Giles,” the man answered, adjusting his glasses.
88888888
Athena stood in the large library of the mansion. She was dressed in a knee length dress, the shift was black and the lace overlay was silver. She had been asked at least three times if she was cold. She knew it was cold, but it did not really bother her. Lex had invited members of the community to dinner. They milled around, waiting for dinner to be called.
“Athena,” Martha greeted. “You look wonderful.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Kent, so do you.”
“I thought Clark would already be here.”
“We’re working through a thing with Chloe. He went to the school to talk to her.”
“I’m sure he’ll be back.”
“I know he will,” Athena said, grinning. “I am going to make a strategic exit and get some homework done while I wait.”
“You’re going to leave a party and do homework?” Jonathan asked.
“I have been to enough parties like this to last me a lifetime. And when I turn eighteen I’ll probably have to endure a million more. Until then, I’ll take homework or…sleuthing over a party and a fancy dress.” She gave him a genuine smile and headed for the far side of the room.
Martha grinned at her husband’s expression. “She keeps surprising you, doesn’t she?”
“Yes,” he admitted.
88888888
Athena was working through a difficult math problem when Lana walked into the office.
“I thought you were supposed to be in Metropolis with Whitney,” Athena said. “Weren’t you going see a limited time exhibit?”
“I was,” Lana said, dropping into the chair across Athena’s desk. “Then Whitney decided that it would be a better idea to go hang out with the guys instead.”
Athena got up, showing that she was dressed up, though it could not be seen that she had kicked her heels off under her desk. “I’m doing homework in a designer dress because Clark went to talk to Chloe.” She sighed and retook her seat.
“I thought you and Chloe were okay.”
“We were until we weren’t,” she shrugged. “What are you going to do about Whitney?”
“I don’t know,” Lana admitted, playing with her green necklace. “What are you going to do about Chloe?”
“I don’t know. Her week somehow actually got worse this morning. A full-time staff editor was assigned. She has loses her free-rein on the Torch on Monday.”
“The British guy, I saw him this morning. It was only a matter of time.”
“Don’t tell Chloe that, she thinks it’s a conspiracy to silence her. What does a fourteen year old know about running a newspaper, journalism, advertising, and budgeting? Plus getting well-rounded journalist to explore all angles of story. Not to mention that school has to take a hard look at what’s going on when an entire room is burned up to silence a school reporter…And the libel they leave themselves open to.”
“Exactly,” Lana said. “You’d think she’d be relieved.”
“She lives and breathes that paper…”
“That’s not necessarily healthy,” Lana joked.
A crash could be heard in the distance. They ran to the window and looked out.
“It looks like a car flipped,” Lana said. The headlights flickered and went out.
Athena headed for the door. She did not stop to put on her shoes just ran for the front door. She threw it open and ran flat out across the ground. She was near the gate before she recognized the truck as Whitney’s. “Damnit.”
She ran across the street and crashed to her knees to look into the cab. Whitney was unconscious, hanging strapped into the seat. Athena felt glass dig into her knee, but leaned into the cab and checked Whitney’s neck, a strong pulse beat against her fingers.
She held the back of his neck and released the seatbelt. She worked to pull Whitney out. A fissure of awareness went up her back, it was not Clark, but a feeling that someone was nearby. She let Whitney go and looked around. It was dark, but her Slayer vision gave her an advantage.
Suddenly, she could sense Clark. She turned to where she felt him, something touched her back. Cold. It was only an instant, then Clark tore it away.
Athena felt her entire world seize as her heart slowed. A painful, burning sensation in her chest as the rest of her body went numb from cold.
Then her heart stopped.
I’m dying.
It was an odd sensation, a complete disassociation. There was a blinding light and her world faded to black.
Then something happened and her heart was forced to move.
She was aware of hot hands touching her head and neck. She was being kissed. Hot air forced into her body. One. Two. Three. Then an excruciating feeling of her chest being pressed in.
“No, no, no,” someone was yelling in time with the compressions.
Again, air was forced in and the process of thumping on her chest continued.
Athena really wanted them to stop, it was hot and painful. Her heart was beating again, but she could not seem to take a breath. It explained why someone kept putting air into her mouth
“Breathe, Attie!” someone ordered.
Lex, she realized. Lex was ordering her around.
“Come on,” another voice said.
Clark. She wanted to respond but nothing seemed to be in her control.
“What happened?” Martha asked.
“She was getting Whitney out of the truck,” Clark said. “Sean stole some of her heat before I could reach them.”
A warm jacket was put over her legs and stomach.
“She’s got a pulse,” Jonathan said, his hot hand on her wrist.
“She’s not breathing,” Lex said.
Clark breathed for her, sending air into her lungs.
It’s like touching the sun, she mused. Or I’m just that cold.
Another compression to her chest caused her gasp, working to move air to and from her lungs. The compressions stopped and her body continued to breathe on its own.
Her eyes fluttered open. Lex and Clark were looking down at her.
“Cold,” she complained but the sound was too low to make sense to them.
“We need to get her inside,” Martha told them.
Athena let the black abyss take her away.
88888888
Rupert Giles was woken early to the sound of a phone ringing. He had spent most of the night in blackness. The power outage that evening had been inconvenient since he only had spell candles and no torches to help him see around his motel room.
“Hello?” he asked, answering the phone.
“Mr. Giles,” Travers said. “I got a call from Katherine Pence, her Potential was Called last night. Whoever the untrained Slayer was for eight weeks, she is deceased. Did you make contact with Athena Luthor?”
“No. This town is not…easily accessible. And the Luthor’s even less so.”
“Verify her status,” Travers ordered. “If she is alive, continue with the plan. She may not be the Slayer now, but she is the right age to be monitored.”
“Yes. Of course,” he agreed. He hung up the phone and tested the lamp. It clicked and lit the room, verifying the power had been turned back on at some point during the night.
Giles sighed. The Council had been in a bit of a panic for six weeks. They had learned of the last Slayer’s passing two weeks after it happened. In that time, no new Slayer had been reported by the Watchers. It meant that the Slayer was an unidentified Potential. Merrick Jamison-Smythe, who identified and tracked Potentials, had been sent to look for the new Slayer.
Giles had been assigned quietly, surveillance of one of the identified Potential, Athena Luthor. She was too high profile to approach or use traditional methods on. Instead, it was a matter of observation, made all the easier by her recent move to Smallville - away from Lionel Luthor.
Giles got out of bed. He had a dozen back-issues of the Smallville High Torch to read.
Thanks for reading, reviews are always appreciated. Giles is now in Smallville, but he's just reconnaissance.
Title: Touching the Sun
Author: hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/Smallville
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or Smallville people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Athena’s life comes to a halt in the cold. Someone new comes to Smallville.
Notes: Athena Luthor Part 12 - Links Page
Seasons: S1Ep5 “Cool”
Characters: Athena, Lex, Clark
Word Count: 2655
The temperature dropped that week, so cold that lakes froze over. Sweaters were joined by gloves, scarves, and hats. The flu and cold virus ran rampant. There was no snow yet, but every morning the dew froze to the grass blades.
“I love this,” Athena said, kneeling on the window seat one morning, looking out a large window onto the grounds.
“A frigid gothic castle in winter?” he asked.
“Don’t rain on my parade, Lex.”
“Are you ready?”
“When you are.” She turned to look at him. He was dressed in a pair of black exercise pants and a white tank top. She wore dark blue yoga pants and bra. Neither of them wore shoes.
Lex raised his hands.
Athena mirrored him.
He threw the first punch, she weaved and retaliated with a hit to his stomach. She had pulled it, hoping it would be normal strength.
Lex moved around her, keeping his feet moving.
Athena gently shifted her weight as he moved behind her.
He launched himself at her back, his arms wrapping around her middle.
She slammed her foot on his instep and sent her elbow into his gut.
He made a sound of pain as air left his body.
When his grip loosened, she grabbed his arm and flung him forward to land on his back on the ground.
“Oof,” he said.
Athena crossed her arms, staying out of reach of his limbs. “Is that all you’ve got?”
Lex raised an eyebrow. “Using one of Father’s taunts?”
She mirrored his expression.
Lex pushed to his feet.
They went several rounds. Each time, Athena tried to keep from hitting Lex, and mostly just used his fighting style against him.
Lex pulled out boxing gloves, handing her a pair.
Athena sighed and put them on. She loved her over protective brother, but his need to ‘check’ her fighting skills was driving her nuts. It also was nowhere close to the workout she needed. However, she needed to assuage her guilt about lying to him. Keeping to the truth as much as possible did not negate the fact that she had secrets.
Hoping it would hasten the process, Athena gave a bit more power to her hits. She deflected Lex’s strikes with ease. She went low after his hit glanced off her shoulder. She swept his feet out from under him and pinned him.
“Are we done?” She asked.
Lex nodded. He was sweating and breathing heavily.
Athena had barely even warmed up. She stood, helping Lex up.
“Your training has obviously paid off,” Lex conceded as he stripped his gloves. He looked passed her. “Clark, what brings you here so early?”
“Just came to hang out,” Clark said. “Athena said today she’d be free.”
“Great.” He handed over the gloves. “You let her beat up on you some.”
Athena smirked, raising her gloved hands.
Lex crossed to a small bookcase where bottled waters were kept.
Clark looked uncomfortably between the two of them.
“Go ahead, Clark,” Lex encouraged. “I don’t advocate violence against women, but Athena is well trained and tends to find it insulting if someone won’t fight her because of her sex.”
Clark hesitantly stripped his jacket and pulled on the black boxing gloves.
Athena lowered her gloves and walked all the way up to Clark. She went up on her toes, giving him a quick kiss. The moment her heels were on the floor, she delivered a jab to his stomach.
“Oof,” Clark exhaled as Athena took several steps back.
She was grinning, bouncing back. She knew Clark would hesitate to hit her, since he was strong and indestructible. Her opening strike had been meant to remind him she was stronger than she looked.
He followed her to the center of the room.
The round was very short, Athena took his legs out and pinned him within two minutes. She was beaming and even Clark found it infectious.
They stood again. This time Athena stripped her gloves. She instructed Clark to leave his on. She took several shots at his abdomen.
Clark returned a few hits, barely making contact. She raised an eyebrow, annoyed. She put a bit more effort into her swings and was caught off-guard when Clark finally added some strength to his hit to her shoulder. The force turned her and she landed on the floor.
Lex chuckled. “I’m a bit jealous, Clark, I didn’t manage to knock her down all morning.”
Athena would privately admit that the hit had stung, no more than training when she had been human, but it surprised her. She mentally checked she was not injured.
Clark took a step closer, trying to make sure she was okay.
Athena sent him back with a kick, knocking him down. She jumped on him before he could get up. She dug her fingers into his sides but it did not have the reaction she had hoped for.
“You’re not ticklish,” she told Clark.
He shook his head and pulled off his gloves. “No.”
“That is so unfair.”
Clark grinned at her pout and dug his fingers into her ribs.
Athena twisted, jumping away. But Clark got ahold of her waist, dragging her back to the floor. Pinning her half under him.
She laughed. “Okay, lesson learned.”
He leaned down and kissed her. Her arms went around his neck as she deepened the kiss.
A moment later, they pulled away, chuckling. Clark looked up only to find they were alone, Lex having discretely quit the room.
“My brother is singularly the best or the worst chaperone ever,” Athena said.
Clark’s cheeks flushed. “Maybe.”
She whispered softly. “We’ve got to remember to try sparring out at your farm, see how we actually match up when we’re not being watched.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he told her.
Athena considered him a moment. “The only way to be the best is to train with the best.” She leaned up to whisper in his ear. “And while you may be a bit invincible, I have to rely on what I know and how I handle a situation, which means knowing my full abilities.”
Clark considered, but did not like the idea.
She kissed his cheek. “Get up, you weigh a ton.”
88888888
Athena grinned as she entered Smallville High. “Any luck?” she asked Chloe. They had agreed to try and get along for Clark’s sake.
“Unsurprisingly, Sean did not call.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not like I was waiting by the phone,” Chloe countered.
“I’d try to find something helpful to say,” Athena said as she put in the combination for her locker, “but I literally have no idea what you’re going through.”
“Because a Luthor always gets what she wants?” she said scathingly.
“No,” Athena threw back coolly. “Because I’ve spent my entire life trying to stay out of people’s notice.”
“Except for Clark’s,” Chloe’s bitter reply came. She crossed the hall entering the Torch office.
“Ugh.” Athena gently banged her head against her locker.
“She looked mad,” Pete noted.
“She was.”
“What happened?”
“Apparently Clark noticed me.”
Pete’s frowned. “Is this about Chloe’s crush?”
“Was I just blind to it?”
“She hides it, mostly.” He sighed. “I don’t think she’s mad at you, it’s just easier to be mad at you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Clark is who she’s actually mad at.”
Athena tried to follow his logic. “Clark…”
“Because he was seemingly in love with Lana one day…”
“And then in a relationship with me the next. Without ever considering Chloe.”
Pete pursed his lips. “It’s not your fault, or Clark’s, or even hers…the heart wants what the heart wants.”
“And being a Luthor doesn’t help.”
“Probably not.” He smiled a bit, trying to take the sting out of the comment.
“Excuse me,” an accented voice said. “Could you direct me to the main office?”
“Uh, yeah,” Pete told the man. “I’ll take you there.” He looked at Athena. “Talk to Clark, maybe he can talk to Chloe.”
“Does he even know how she feels?”
Pete shrugged. “This way Mister…”
“Giles,” the man answered, adjusting his glasses.
88888888
Athena stood in the large library of the mansion. She was dressed in a knee length dress, the shift was black and the lace overlay was silver. She had been asked at least three times if she was cold. She knew it was cold, but it did not really bother her. Lex had invited members of the community to dinner. They milled around, waiting for dinner to be called.
“Athena,” Martha greeted. “You look wonderful.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Kent, so do you.”
“I thought Clark would already be here.”
“We’re working through a thing with Chloe. He went to the school to talk to her.”
“I’m sure he’ll be back.”
“I know he will,” Athena said, grinning. “I am going to make a strategic exit and get some homework done while I wait.”
“You’re going to leave a party and do homework?” Jonathan asked.
“I have been to enough parties like this to last me a lifetime. And when I turn eighteen I’ll probably have to endure a million more. Until then, I’ll take homework or…sleuthing over a party and a fancy dress.” She gave him a genuine smile and headed for the far side of the room.
Martha grinned at her husband’s expression. “She keeps surprising you, doesn’t she?”
“Yes,” he admitted.
88888888
Athena was working through a difficult math problem when Lana walked into the office.
“I thought you were supposed to be in Metropolis with Whitney,” Athena said. “Weren’t you going see a limited time exhibit?”
“I was,” Lana said, dropping into the chair across Athena’s desk. “Then Whitney decided that it would be a better idea to go hang out with the guys instead.”
Athena got up, showing that she was dressed up, though it could not be seen that she had kicked her heels off under her desk. “I’m doing homework in a designer dress because Clark went to talk to Chloe.” She sighed and retook her seat.
“I thought you and Chloe were okay.”
“We were until we weren’t,” she shrugged. “What are you going to do about Whitney?”
“I don’t know,” Lana admitted, playing with her green necklace. “What are you going to do about Chloe?”
“I don’t know. Her week somehow actually got worse this morning. A full-time staff editor was assigned. She has loses her free-rein on the Torch on Monday.”
“The British guy, I saw him this morning. It was only a matter of time.”
“Don’t tell Chloe that, she thinks it’s a conspiracy to silence her. What does a fourteen year old know about running a newspaper, journalism, advertising, and budgeting? Plus getting well-rounded journalist to explore all angles of story. Not to mention that school has to take a hard look at what’s going on when an entire room is burned up to silence a school reporter…And the libel they leave themselves open to.”
“Exactly,” Lana said. “You’d think she’d be relieved.”
“She lives and breathes that paper…”
“That’s not necessarily healthy,” Lana joked.
A crash could be heard in the distance. They ran to the window and looked out.
“It looks like a car flipped,” Lana said. The headlights flickered and went out.
Athena headed for the door. She did not stop to put on her shoes just ran for the front door. She threw it open and ran flat out across the ground. She was near the gate before she recognized the truck as Whitney’s. “Damnit.”
She ran across the street and crashed to her knees to look into the cab. Whitney was unconscious, hanging strapped into the seat. Athena felt glass dig into her knee, but leaned into the cab and checked Whitney’s neck, a strong pulse beat against her fingers.
She held the back of his neck and released the seatbelt. She worked to pull Whitney out. A fissure of awareness went up her back, it was not Clark, but a feeling that someone was nearby. She let Whitney go and looked around. It was dark, but her Slayer vision gave her an advantage.
Suddenly, she could sense Clark. She turned to where she felt him, something touched her back. Cold. It was only an instant, then Clark tore it away.
Athena felt her entire world seize as her heart slowed. A painful, burning sensation in her chest as the rest of her body went numb from cold.
Then her heart stopped.
I’m dying.
It was an odd sensation, a complete disassociation. There was a blinding light and her world faded to black.
Then something happened and her heart was forced to move.
She was aware of hot hands touching her head and neck. She was being kissed. Hot air forced into her body. One. Two. Three. Then an excruciating feeling of her chest being pressed in.
“No, no, no,” someone was yelling in time with the compressions.
Again, air was forced in and the process of thumping on her chest continued.
Athena really wanted them to stop, it was hot and painful. Her heart was beating again, but she could not seem to take a breath. It explained why someone kept putting air into her mouth
“Breathe, Attie!” someone ordered.
Lex, she realized. Lex was ordering her around.
“Come on,” another voice said.
Clark. She wanted to respond but nothing seemed to be in her control.
“What happened?” Martha asked.
“She was getting Whitney out of the truck,” Clark said. “Sean stole some of her heat before I could reach them.”
A warm jacket was put over her legs and stomach.
“She’s got a pulse,” Jonathan said, his hot hand on her wrist.
“She’s not breathing,” Lex said.
Clark breathed for her, sending air into her lungs.
It’s like touching the sun, she mused. Or I’m just that cold.
Another compression to her chest caused her gasp, working to move air to and from her lungs. The compressions stopped and her body continued to breathe on its own.
Her eyes fluttered open. Lex and Clark were looking down at her.
“Cold,” she complained but the sound was too low to make sense to them.
“We need to get her inside,” Martha told them.
Athena let the black abyss take her away.
88888888
Rupert Giles was woken early to the sound of a phone ringing. He had spent most of the night in blackness. The power outage that evening had been inconvenient since he only had spell candles and no torches to help him see around his motel room.
“Hello?” he asked, answering the phone.
“Mr. Giles,” Travers said. “I got a call from Katherine Pence, her Potential was Called last night. Whoever the untrained Slayer was for eight weeks, she is deceased. Did you make contact with Athena Luthor?”
“No. This town is not…easily accessible. And the Luthor’s even less so.”
“Verify her status,” Travers ordered. “If she is alive, continue with the plan. She may not be the Slayer now, but she is the right age to be monitored.”
“Yes. Of course,” he agreed. He hung up the phone and tested the lamp. It clicked and lit the room, verifying the power had been turned back on at some point during the night.
Giles sighed. The Council had been in a bit of a panic for six weeks. They had learned of the last Slayer’s passing two weeks after it happened. In that time, no new Slayer had been reported by the Watchers. It meant that the Slayer was an unidentified Potential. Merrick Jamison-Smythe, who identified and tracked Potentials, had been sent to look for the new Slayer.
Giles had been assigned quietly, surveillance of one of the identified Potential, Athena Luthor. She was too high profile to approach or use traditional methods on. Instead, it was a matter of observation, made all the easier by her recent move to Smallville - away from Lionel Luthor.
Giles got out of bed. He had a dozen back-issues of the Smallville High Torch to read.
Thanks for reading, reviews are always appreciated. Giles is now in Smallville, but he's just reconnaissance.